Ferris State Tennis Teams Earn First-Round Byes For GLIAC Tourney This Week

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's tennis squads have both received first-round byes and will embark on postseason play at the 2024 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships this weekend in Midland.

The Bulldog men's squad, which captured the GLIAC regular-season title, will be the top seed in the men's field at the Midland Tennis Center while the women's team will be the number two overall seed for annual postseason event.

Action at the league tournament begins on Friday (April 26) with the top two seeds in both the men's and women's competitions earning first-round byes.

The Bulldog women's team will open play in the semifinals on Saturday (April 27) versus the winner of the opening round match between third-seeded Grand Valley State and number six seed Michigan Tech starting at 10 a.m. (ET). The other semifinal will pit top-seeded Wayne State against the winner of the first-round matchup between fourth-seeded Saginaw Valley State and fifth-seeded Lake Superior State. The semifinal winners advance to the league final on Sunday (April 28) beginning at 10 a.m. (ET).

On the men's side, as the top seed, the Bulldogs will also open action in the semifinals on Saturday (April 27) against the winner of fourth-seeded Lake Superior State and fifth-seeded Purdue Northwest at 3 p.m. (ET). The other semifinal features second-seeded Wayne State versus the winner of the third-seeded Grand Valley State and sixth-seeded Davenport tilt. The finals are set for Sunday (April 28) starting at 3 p.m. (ET) on the men's side.

This year's event is a single-elimination tournament for both the men and the women with the winner of each tournament receiving an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament. Teams will play a "clinch-clinch" format, meaning that after the doubles point has been decided, any remaining doubles match shall be abandoned and the match will be stopped once a team reaches four points.

All applicable coverage links will be posted on the league's official tournament website at the links below.

The Bulldogs captured the GLIAC's regular-season championship in men's tennis this year and are currently ranked among the top teams in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Rankings. FSU's men's team has captured five tournament titles since 2012, including most recently in 2021. Ferris State has won four of the last seven men's league postseason tournament championships overall. The Bulldogs claimed their 21st all-time conference title in the regular-season this year has now won back-to-back GLIAC Championships in regular-season play. Overall, the Bulldogs have now won seven of the last nine regular-season titles that have been awarded.

The FSU women's team finished second behind Wayne State in GLIAC regular-season play this year and is back in the league tournament after missing the field a year ago. Ferris State won its first league tournament postseason championship since 2002 three years ago in 2021.

Additional information on the GLIAC Tournaments can be found at the respective links below:

Men's Tournament - gliac.org/tournaments/mten/2023-24/index

Women's Tournament - gliac.org/tournaments/wten/2023-24/index